Switch-controlled electrode holder



Oct. 26, 1954 G. v. CORNELL SWITCH-CONTROLLED ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Aug. 14, .1953

INVENTOR. George V Cornell Patented Oct. 26, 1954 OFFICE SWITCH- CONTROLLED ELECTRODE HOLDER George V. Cornell, Chicago, 111. Application August 14, 1953, Serial No. 374,197

1 Claim. 1 It.

This invention relates to electrode holders for electric welding, and more particularly to an improved electrode holder of the type provided with a switch for disconnecting the electrode holder from the current supply when desired.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved electrode holder having a disconnecting switch incorporated therein, said holder being simple in construction, being easy to manipulate, and involving relatively few parts,

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved electrode holder of the type provided with a disconnecting switch, said electrode holder being inexpensive to fabricate, being durable in construction, and being operable by simple movements of the users hand.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an improved electrode holder constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross sectional view taken through the electrode holder of Figure '1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the movable switch block member and the retaining springs associated therewith, as employed in the electrode holder illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawings, th improved electrode holder is designated generally at II and comprises a first jaw I2 of conductive material which is surrounded at its lower exposed surfaces by the insulating sheath I3. The sheath I 3 may comprise any suitable insulating sheet material, such as a molded plastic sheath which is secured to the exposed surfaces of the electrode jaw I2, as by cementing or the like, and is further secured at its rear portion to said jaw I2 by a machine screw M, as shown in Figure 2. Designated at I5 is a second jaw of conductive material which is pivotally connected to the first jaw I2 at I6, as by a transverse pin extending through the intermediate portion of the second jaw I 5 and through a pair of upstanding lugs I! integrally formed on the first jaw I2 and extending upwardly on opposite sides of the second jaw I5. The exterior exposed surfaces of the second jaw I5 are covered by a suitable insulating sheath I8, for example, a sheath of molded plastic material similar to the material of the sheath I3, suitably secured, as by cementing or the like to the exterior exposed surfaces of the second jaw I5. The second jaw I5 is biased counterclockwise, as viewed in Figure 1, by a U-shaped leaf spring I9 disposed between the under surface of the rear portion of the jaw I5 and the top surface of the rear portion of the jaw I2, as shown in Figure 1, the bottom arm of the leaf spring I9 being secured to the jaw I2 by a machine screw 29 or the like. The opposing forward portions of the jaws I5 and I2 are formed with suitable opposing transverse grooves 2I and 22 to receive a welding rod 23, as shown in Figure 2, whereby the welding rod will be clamped between the jaws I2 and I5 by the force exerted on the jaws by leaf spring I9.

Designated at 24, 24 are parallel insulating plates secured to the rear portion of the first jaw I2, as by the transverse bolts 25, 25, the insulating plates being located subadjacent to the upwardly and rearwardly curved handle portion 28 of the second jaw I5. Secured between the rear portions of the insulating plates 24, 24 is the shank 29 of the cable terminal 30, the shank 29 being secured between the insulating plates in any suitable manner, as by transverse bolts 3 I. The cable terminal 30 is provided with the sleeve portion 32 in which the end 33 of the current supply wire 34 is clamped, as by a set screw 35.

As shown in Figure l, the insulating sheath I3 may be secured to the end portion of shank 29 of the cable terminal, as by a machine screw 35, whereby the rear portion of the sheath I3 underlies the gap 36 between the ends of jaw I2 and shank 29, as is clearly shown in Figure 1.

The rear end portion of the jaw I 2 and the adjacent end portion of the shank 29 of cable terminal 30 are longitudinally grooved, as shown at 31 and 38. Slidably received in the aligned grooves 31 and 38 is a conductive block member 39 which is slidable into bridging contact with the end portions of the jaw I 2 and shank 29, as shown in Figure 2, but which may be moved laterally, namely, to the right, as viewed in Figure 2, to disconnect jaw I 2 from shank 29.

The conductive block 39 is formed with the rack teeth 40 located on the intermediate portion of its top surface and extending longitudinally thereon, the rear end portion of the lower arm of spring l9 being formed with the downwardly offset retaining fingers 4i, 4| which ar engageable with the top surface of the conductive block 39 on opposite sides of the rack teeth 40 when the conductive block is in its bridging position, shown in Figure 2, the fingers 4|, 4| terminating substantially over the end of the electrode jaw I2,

whereby the block 39 is disengaged from the fingers 4|, 4| when said block is moved to its disconnecting position, shown in dotted view in Figure 2. Secured to the shank 29 of the cable terminal 30 is a retaining spring 44 having the downwardly offset retaining fingers 45, 45 which are engageable on the top surface of the conductive block 39 on opposite sides of the rack teeth 40 to retain the sliding block in the groove 38 of shank 29. As shown in Figure 4, the retaining fingers 45, 45 terminate a substantial distance from the ends of the retaining fingers 4 l 4|.

Rotatably mounted between the insulating plates 24, 24, as on a transverse pin element 46 is the disc member 41 formed with the gear teeth 48 which mesh with the rack teeth 40. Rigidly secured to the top portion of the periphery of the disc 41, as viewed in Figure 2, is the upwardly projecting arm 49 formed at its end with the button or knob 50 which may be readily operated by the hand of the welder to rotate disc 41, when desired. Thus, when it is desired to disconnect jaw i2 from the cable terminal shank 29, the operator merely rotates the arm 49 counterclockwise, as viewed in Figure 2, to the dotted line position thereof shown in said figure, whereby the conductive block 33 is moved to the right, to its dotted line position shown in Figure 2, thus disconnecting the electrode jaw 12 from the terminal shank 29. When it is desired to reconnect the jaw E2 to the terminal shank 29, the knob 50 is merely rotated clockwise, as viewed in Figure 2, to its full line position, which returns the conductive block 159 to the bridging position thereof shown in Figure 2, whereby the shank 29 is electrically connected to the jaw l2.

Secured on the sleeve portion 32 is a protective insulating cover 66 of hard rubber or other suitable insulating material, the forward end of the cover being flanged inwardly at 6! to engage the forward annular shoulder defined by the sleeve portion 32, and the rear end of the cover tapering inwardly at 62 to overlie the end of the insulation on the current supply wire 34.

Secured on the top edges of the Vertical insulating plates 24, 24 is a protective cover 53 of fibre or other suitable insulating material, said cover being formed with a longitudinal slot 64 through which the arm 49 extends and in which said arm is rotatable.

While a specific embodiment of an improved electrode holder for welding has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In an electrode holder for welding, a first jaw of conductive material, a second gjaw pivotally connected to said first jaw, spring means biasing the forward portions of said jaws together, whereby a welding rod may be clamped therebetween, said second jaw having a rearwardly extending arm portion, a pair of parallel insulating plates secured to the rear end portion of said first jaw and being arranged adjacent said arm portion, a cable terminal secured between said insulating plate adjacent to but spaced from the rear end of said first jaw, a conductive block member slidably engaged on said terminal and being movable into sliding contact with the rear end of said first jaw, a switch operating member rotatably mounted between insulating plates and gearingly engaging said block member, the rear end of said first jaw and said terminal being longitudinally grooved to define a guide channel receiving said block member, and spring means on the terminal engaging said block member and maintaining said block member in said guide channel.

References Sited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,306,746 Campbell June 17, 1919 1,3813% Samuels June 14, 1921 1,438,497 Jones Dec. 12, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 580,452 Great Britain Sept. 9, 1946 

